Otopeni 2025: Day one at World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships produces world record, silver for GB’s Smith and two relay medals for Italy

Great Britain’s 15-year-old Amalie Smith, a double gold medallist on her debut at the European Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships last month, added further lustre to her career by taking women’s 400m medley silver on day one of the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships.

Smith, who won the European 200m and 400m IM titles in Samorin, clocked 4:35.49 in Otopeni as she finished behind Argentina’s 17-year-old Agostina Hein, who set a Championship record of 4:34.34.

Hungary’s 16-year-old Vivien Jackl was seventh in 4:44.42.

The opening relay of the Championships – the men’s 4x100m freestyle – produced a world junior record of 3:15.38 for the neutral athletes team, with European junior champions Italy – comprising Francisco Ceolin, Daniel D’Agostino, Daniele Del Signore and Carlos D’Ambrosio – taking silver in 3:16.03.

Great Britain, bronze medallists in the European juniors, finished fifth in 3:17.25, represented by four 17-year-olds in Jacob Mills, Rio Daodu, Harry Milne and Gabriel Shepherd. France were eighth in 3:19.31.

Italy claimed a second medal in the fourth and last final of the night as their team of Bianca Nannucci, Lucrezia Domina, Chiara Sama and 14-year-old Allesandra Mao won 4x200m freestyle bronze in 7:56.86.

China took gold in 7:51.59, with silver going to the United States in 7:52.82.

In the men’s 400m freestyle, Germany’s European junior silver medallist of last month, Johannes Liebmann, finished seventh in 3:49.27 in a race by the neutral athlete who finished one place ahead of him in Samorin, Grigorii Vekovishchev, who clocked 3:46.64 to secure the first gold of the Championships.

Turkiye’s 17-year-old Kuzey Tuncelli, who will defend his 800m and 1500m titles this week, also made the final, finishing one place behind Liebmann on 3:50.80.

Tomorrow’s men’s 100m breaststroke final looks like a potentially epic contest given the semi-final results this evening, in which Great Britain’s four-times European junior gold medallist Filip Nowacki qualified fastest in 59.24 ahead of Japan’s world junior record holder Shin Ohashi, who clocked 599.72.

Greece’s Evangelos Ntoumas was in third place in 59.77.

Ireland’s European junior champion John Shortt was second fastest qualifier into tomorrow’s 100m backstroke final with 53.80, behind the 53.52 set by Gavin Keogh of the United States, with neutral athlete Georgii Iakovlev, European junior silver medallist, third fastest qualifier.

Lithuania’s European junior women’s 50m breaststroke champion Smilte Plytnykaite was one of four European qualifiers for tomorrow’s final, the others being Germany’s European 200m breaststroke champion Lena Ludwig, Theodora Taylor of Great Britain and Irene Burato of Italy.

In the women’s 100m backstroke, home swimmer Daria Silisteanu was second fastest qualifier in 1:00.31.

Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics

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